1. Technical Field
This invention relates to a combination tailgate and ramp assembly, and more particularly to a combination tailgate formed of a pair of ramps which assembled together form a tailgate and when broken down into separate ramps can be rotated down, out and over into a ramp configuration.
2. Background Art
One of the most common and aggravating problems for the owners of pickup trucks and the like is how to get wheeled vehicles, such as lawn and garden equipment, motorcycles or tracked vehicles such as snowmobiles, into the back of a pickup truck for transport. Often times these items are too heavy for a person working alone to load into a pickup truck bed without the use of a ramp. As a result, many people have resorted to the use of makeshift ramps made of wood, which are dangerous and bulky, or they will carry prefabricated, detachable ramps which are heavy and awkward to manipulate. A number of attempts have been made to produce safer and more convenient ramps, such as the one disclosed in Raap et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,756,440, which teaches a foldable ramp which is supported, for storage and transport, on the inside surface of the tailgate. While the ramp panels as disclosed in Raap et al. can be swung about a hinge from a transverse storage position to a longitudinal ramp position, the configuration is heavy and awkward to use, in that it is added weight to the tailgate assembly.
In an effort to reduce the weight, Hansen, U.S. Pat. No. 4,668,002, provides an assembly which is a combination tailgate and ramp which include two separate foldable ramps made of a steel mesh which can be folded and stored in a movable tailgate frame to form the tailgate and ramp combination. However, in order to use the combination ramp and tailgate disclosed in Hansen, one must physically lift and remove each of the ramp assemblies, assemble them into a ramp, and then connect them to the bed of the truck. Since each ramp assembly is of considerable weight, this is difficult, and for some people it is a physical impossibility.
The third general solution to the problem is the removal of the tailgate in its entirety, and the substitution of a self-storing loading ramp, which is itself stored in an upright vertical position in lieu of the tailgate. This solution is feasible in the case of specialized "low boy" trailers, such as disclosed in Love, Jr. et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,972,428 and McKenzie, U.S. Pat. No. 4,906,041. A fourth solution is disclosed in Best, U.S. Pat. No. 5,096,362, where the ramp can be stored behind the tailgate or truck door.
What is needed is a combination tailgate and ramp assembly which serve dual functions, both as a tailgate, and as a ramp, and more importantly an assembly wherein the conversion from a tailgate to a ramp can be accomplished by a single operator with most of the weight of the ramp being mechanically supported so as to eliminate the need to lift, assemble and reinstall ramp portions to the back of the truck. This object is facilitated by achieving a mechanical advantage for supporting the weight of the ramp sections.